09 Jan Personal belongings insurance not a priority in the UAE despite fire risks
A new survey has revealed that the vast majority of residents in the United Arab Emirates do not have insurance to protect their belongings in the event of a fire, theft or other incident.
According to yallacompare.com – a price comparison website – only 11% of UAE consumers have taken out a home contents policy. This is in stark contrast to many other countries, for example, the UK where the rate is as high as 75%.
According to the survey, a quarter of those polled said they have no protection as the policies are too expensive. A similar percentage felt there was no point in taking out cover, while 12% assumed that it was an issue their landlord would deal with.
The UAE is inherently known to be safe and secure – perhaps accounting for the low take-up rate, which has hovered around the 10% mark for a number of years now. Despite this, there have been a number of high-profile devastating fires in the region, in many cases with residents losing the entire contents of their homes.
While a 2016 study found that the cost of refurnishing the average one-bed apartment in the UAE would cost at least Dh28,000, a home insurance policy averages Dh220 for the year.
With homeowners now facing fines if they fail to implement the new Hassantuk fire safety system, perhaps we’ll begin to see fire safety taken more seriously in 2024.